The Imperial Cutie
by FossilQueen1984
Summary: Soon to be Emperor Thrawn and his wife, Minerva get exciting news. They are going to be parents to a daughter. Fluffy family one shot set after "Ballad of the Winter Rose".


The Imperial Cutie

A Star Wars Story

Written by: Nehru_Amidala

Universe: Ballad of the Winter Rose, so AU! Rebels and Doctor Who

Date: Imperial Year 18, or Earth Year 1997

Pairings: Thrawn/Minerva, Eli/Lyste, Yularen/Margie, mention of Rae/Gallius

Cast: Thrawn- Lars Mikkelsen, Minerva- Jenna Coleman, Eli Vanto- David Tennant, Yogar Lyste- Daniel Radcliffe, Wulff Yularen- Sean Connery, Margie Fowler- Catherine Tate, Dr. Thales- Brian Dietzen, Lando Calrissian- Billy Dee Williams, Azmorigan- Mark Hamill, Rukh- Warwick Davis

Looking back as they sat in the cell on the _Chimaera_ awaiting the wrath of soon to be Emperor Thrawn for the attempted abduction of his wife and unborn daughter, Lando Calrissian, smuggler, part-time Rebel and newly crowned Baron Administrator of Cloud City was deep in thought as his smuggling partner, Azmorigan, began to have a panic attack.

The avaricious red blob was pacing in the cell frantically, his body reeking of sweat and stale rations from the _Falcon's_ galley. His normally whiny voice was more so as he muttered to himself about how the Empire was going to kill them for nothing, and how nobody would mourn him. After nearly three hours of this, the self-pity fest was getting on Calrissian's nerve.

"Azmorigan," he shouted harshly, "shut the kriff up!"

Azmorigan spun around and got into Lando's face, his beady yellow eyes glaring into Calrissian's brown ones. " _Don't you dare tell me what to do, Lando Calrissian!"_ Lando threw a sharp right hook, and sent the walking blob onto his rotund backside.

"You were the one who wanted to hold her for ransom, remember," the human retorted bitterly. Outside, they could here Emperor Thrawn discussing the prisoners with the stormtroopers when the doors to the prison cell whooshed open, letting in a burst of cool air.

Azmorigan was about to make a run for it, but Thrawn stunned the living blob with his blaster. Eyeing Calrissian with a mixed gaze of disgust and interest, he greeted the other man in a surprisingly conversational tone, "Ah General Lando Calrissian of the Rebel Alliance, so good to meet the man who returned my family unharmed. I am interested why a businessman of your skill is associating with known criminals."

Lando was taken aback by the Emperor's flattery, failing to notice the Noghri guard step in beside them. He took a step back, but found himself faced with two white clad stormtroopers. Thrawn gestured for him to follow him. "What do you want me for? It was all Azmorigan's idea," Lando piped up hastily.

Thrawn stared at him, "You rather I flatter you with compliments and yet you throw your partner under the speeder. Rukh, take him and Azmorigan back to the _Millennium Falcon_ , I wish to see what it is they are smuggling, and I also wish to know what happened while my wife was aboard the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs under Han Solo's piloting." When Thrawn said this, Lando did a double take and in doing so hurt his neck where Minerva had smacked him with the flat of her blade.

The _Chimaera's_ main docking bay was a flurry of activity, and the loot was being offloaded under the supervision of Thrawn's adopted brother, Eli Vanto. The brown haired human was reading a datapad when Thrawn called to him. "There you are. They were smuggling glitterstim spice by the packet, we had to sanitize the holding areas because coolant fluid had started to leak into the goods." He glared at the two prisoners.

"It's all right Eli, Minerva and the baby are fine."

"That's all very well and good, but what about the Rebel scum?" He shot daggers at them. Lando glared back, but Azmorigan eyed the young man over. Thrawn's eyes narrowed, and Rukh slit his throat. Lando paled, and was forced to clean up the mess. Once that chore was finished, Thrawn forced him to ingest 4.5 ounces of the coolant infused spice, and sent the hallucinating smuggler on his way via _Falcon._

No sooner had the YT-1300 freighter made the jump into hyperspace, Thrawn and Eli turned to a much more pleasant topic, Minerva's pregnancy. Making their way to the med center, they found Minerva playing cribbage with Yogar Lyste, Eli's husband. Yogar was a good card player, and he found Earth games to be more challenging.

Minerva felt Thrawn's presence and smiled, "Welcome back, you missed the fireworks." Thrawn leaned over and kissed her. Sitting down on the bed next to her, he moved a stray lock of hair from her forehead and pulled her into his lap. Eli greeted his husband with a quick peck, and they moved to the side, Lyste's arm around his waist.

It was here that Doctor Thales entered in his mint green scrubs, holding a datapad. Two years ago, he had been a Stormtrooper on Ryloth and he had saved Minerva's life when she had faced Cham'Syndulla in single combat. He smiled at the royal couple, "I have wonderful news, Your Highnesses. Minerva is free from injury and is 6 weeks pregnant with a girl."

Minerva felt her jaw go slack, "Are you sure I'm only six weeks along? I feel like I should only be less than a month in." Nuzzling her, Thrawn smirked, "You forget dear, that you are only half human and daughter is a hybrid." Minerva blushed, there were times she almost forgot she was half-Gallifreyan.

Eli inquired, "How long will Minerva's pregnancy last?" Minerva was like the sister he never had, so he and Lyste were concerned about the health of both mother and child. Thrawn explained that a Chiss pregnancy usually lasted 7 to 9 months, and a Gallifreyan pregnancy was exactly 8 months. Ergo, somewhere around 8 months.

"Well, the foetus is healthy and developing at a good pace. We need to schedule monthly check ups just make sure everything is on track," Thales informed the couple. Thrawn and Minerva agreed, this was their first and they wanted everything to be perfect.

Eli and Yogar excused themselves, they had paperwork to do and decided to leave Thrawn and Minerva alone to bask in the wonderful news. Minerva was released twenty minutes later, but morning sickness and medicine induced nausea was rearing, so Thrawn put his wife to bed, before pulling out his datapad, pulling off his boots, and joining his wife in bed.

Minerva returned after brushing her teeth. She placed Thrawn's hands on her rounding belly. "I can't believe we're going to be parents." She nuzzled her husband, this really was a dream come true. Thrawn beamed as his hands rubbed the baby bump. As they cuddled, Thrawn let his mind wander back to how everything had come to pass.

From the time they were first married, Thrawn and Minerva knew they wanted to be parents. Thrawn wanted to teach his children about their Chiss and Gallifreyan heritage and Minerva wanted to be a mother, considering the lack of a maternal bond in her childhood on Earth, excluding Margie Fowler.

Six weeks ago, Thrawn and Eli had been suddenly called away. Admiral Rae Sloan, a family friend, had been dealing with space pirates attacking her fleet. She thought there was a mole on her flagship, and had suffered a miscarriage when she took a blow meant for her husband, Gallius Rax. Thrawn had been awake at once when he heard this, he would be there as soon as possible.

Minerva was laying naked under the sheets, and Thrawn kissed her forehead softly. They had been intimate the previous night, and she had conceived! Chiss senses were far sharper than a human's, and he could make out the faint, but confirmed chemical change within his wife. He hoped they were having a daughter.

Eli took some rousing, so Thrawn barged into the bedroom and dragged the man out of bed. Highly embarrassed, Eli mumbled an apology and Lyste and Minerva were left in charge. Normally, Colonel Yularen would have been the ranking officer, but he was on his honeymoon on Earth with Margie, while they helped resettle the entire populous of Alderaan.

The six weeks seemed to fly by, nothing of note really happening. However, Minerva felt off. First, she was sleeping later than usual. Next, she wanted nothing but tok nut butter sandwiches, and then she would vomit it all back up. It was after 4 days of this she began to suspect she was pregnant. So, she took a pregnancy test, and her suspicions were confirmed. However, she knew that the results could have been a false positive, so she decided to put in for an appointment in the med center. By now, she had missed her period and she was gaining weight and a noticeable baby bump. Also, she could sense the baby through the Force.

She had immediately called Margie and Yularen, who had formally adopted her as their daughter. When they heard they were going to be grandparents, they were thrilled and promised to return to the GFFA and meet the baby as soon as they could. Yularen began preparing a care package for the new baby, and Margie assisted with parenting books and her own advice.

The morning after the call was the day the _Millennium Falcon_ stumbled into the fray of the Seventh Fleet. Azmorigan and Calrissian had been trying to dodge Hondo Ohnaka, but they miscalculated the hyperspace jump and sure enough, the TIE Fighters had given chase. Those had been taken care of, at least until Minerva hopped into a TIE Defender, placed a homing beacon on the _Falcon_ and gave chase.

No sooner had she boarded the ship then the room began to spin and she fell to her feet. Azmorigan smiled lecherously, he could sell her for a high price. He placed a hand on her back, when Minerva pulled her blade and slashed him! Screaming shrilly, Calrissian tried to pacify their captive, when she smacked him with the flat of her blade. She then vomited all over him. Embarrassed, she locked herself in the fresher, while Calrissian and Azmorigan argued what to do next. They argued for long, they did not notice the _Chimaera_ jump out of hyperspace to rescue the Empress.

Minerva sighed and asked Thrawn, "We're going to need a name." Thrawn smiled, "I have been reading Celtic mythology as of late, and I think we should name her Rhiannon. It translates into 'princess' and she will be a princess at birth, like her mother." He kissed her sweetly.

Minerva thought about it. Their daughter would be known as Her Royal Highness, Imperial Princess Rhiannon Margaret Hektor to the Imperial subjects and to the Chiss she would be known as Mitth'Rhiannon'Hektor. Testing the name out, she agreed it would fit their little girl.

Halfway through the pregnancy, Eli and Yogar built a beautiful wooden bassinet inlaid with precious gems and shells. The blankets were a dark pink and it was lovely. It also doubled as a cradle, and it came with a shelf for toys and books. Those came from Grandfather and Grandmother Yularen. There were several gaily colored picture books, some adorable stuffed animals and books for when she was older. These included the Chronicles of Narnia, the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, A Wrinkle of Time, Paddington Bear with a little stuffed Paddington, and a new book that drew Thrawn and Minerva's attention.

This new novel was about an orphan by the name of Harry Potter, and it chronicled his adventures as he learned about his wizarding heritage. It reminded Minerva about her own childhood, and Thrawn thought it was an excellent start and predicted that the next installment would be just as good, if not better. Inquiring about it to Wulff later, the older gentleman said he and Margie had their own copy and were of a similar opinion.

Minerva's pregnancy progressed without fanfare, although bets were made about her due date. The press was all over it, but respected the privacy of the young couple. Rebel sympathetic outlets were snarky about the parents, but refused to insult a child.

As October drew on, Minerva began wearing gowns and slippers because she could not fit into her uniform anymore, and her boots were uncomfortable. Thrawn loved seeing her in this state, she resembled a Nubian fertility goddess. He was excited to meet his daughter, he was curious to see what she would look like.

Neither he nor Minerva would have to wait long for Rhiannon to make her debut. At 2:38 am, 15 October 1997, Minerva's water broke. She woke up with a pained cry as her contractions kicked in immediately, making it impossible to stand up without doubling over in pain. Awake and alarmed at how quickly the labor was progressing, Thrawn commed the med center immediately, and there was no way they were going to be able to make it there in time.

He then commed Eli and Yogar, and they sat outside the bedroom in Thrawn's office, pacing and drinking caf as Minerva screamed her lungs out as she pushed and breathed heavily. Hours passed, and Yogar inquired to his husband, "I'm glad that's not me in there, giving birth sounds painful." He glanced at the wall chrono nervously. Eli nodded in agreement, it was nerve wracking.

Meanwhile, back inside the bedroom, Thrawn was sitting behind a naked Minerva, holding her hands as she sat in his laps. Letting out an exhausted, ragged gasp she bore down with the last bit of strength she had, and out came the baby! Letting out a loud wail, Rhiannon squirmed and wiggled as Dr. Thales weighed, cleaned and dressed her. He beamed at the couple, "Congratulations, you have a healthy baby daughter." Placing the infant into Minerva's arms, the couple gazed warmly at their newborn daughter.

There was no doubt about it, Princess Rhiannon was a cherubic infant. She had inherited her mother's creamy vanilla complexion and thick, curly dark brown hair (she already had a full head of it). She had also inherited her father's eyes. She was perfect. "Hello there, Rhiannon, we're your parents," Minerva whispered to the baby. Rhiannon opened her eyes, and when she saw her Mommy and Daddy for the first time, she smiled and cooed. Thrawn kissed her forehead and whispered a prayer over the infant in Cheunh. While this was going on, Rhiannon decided to eat, so Minerva nursed her daughter.

After a diaper change by Dad, Eli and Yogar were allowed in. Eli and Yogar knelt by the bed, and swore fealty to the tiny princess. After being introduced, they had the chance to hold her, and Rhiannon took a liking to them immediately. Soon, they took their leave and let the young family get some much needed sleep.

A day later, photos of the princess were officially released, and she was dubbed The Imperial Cutie. Her parents could not have been any happier. During the crowning ceremony, Rhiannon slept the entire time.


End file.
